FOUNDATION ARTArt Analysis

KEY DISCUSSION POINTSIn the exam you will probably be asked to respond

to art work using at least two key points. These include;

A discussion of the aesthetic qualities An interpretation of subject matter and the

communication of ideas and meanings The use of materials and techniques used by the

artist/designer The influence of new technology The development of a distinctive style by the artist The influences on an artist including other artists and

historical or cultural influences

Art Movements Western art is arranged into a number of

stylistic periods, which, historically, overlap each other as different styles flourished in different areas. Broadly the periods are, Classical, Byzantine, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Modern. Each of these is further subdivided.

Bust of Antinous, c. 130 AD

Ancient Classical art

Most surviving art from the Medieval period was religious in focus, often funded by the Church, powerful ecclesiastical individuals such as bishops, communal groups such as abbeys, or wealthy secular patrons. Many had specific liturgical functions — processional crosses and altarpieces, for example.One of the central questions about Medieval art concerns its lack of realism.

Medieval Art - 7th century

The Renaissance is characterized by a focus on the arts of Ancient Greece and Rome, which led to many changes in both the technical aspects of painting and sculpture, as well as to their subject matter.

Renaissance – 14th – 15th Century

High Renaissance artists include such figures as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti, and Raffaello Santi.The 15th-century artistic developments in Italy (for example, the interest in perspectival systems, in depicting anatomy, and in classical cultures) matured during the 16th century, accounting for the designations “Early Renaissance” for the 15th century and “High Renaissance” for the 16th century. Although

High Renaissance

Click icon to add picture

The Arnolfini PortraitJan van Eyck van Eyck, Jan (1387–1441)

Time Period:Mannerism — 16th century Baroque — 17th century to 18th century

Mannerism & Baroque

Click icon to add picture

Neoclassicism — 18th century to 19th century Romanticism — Late 18th century to 19th century Realism — 19th century

Neoclassicism, Romanticism & Realism

Click icon to add picture

Artist: Manet, Edouard

Title Deutsch: Haus in RueilYear 1882

Impressionism, Post Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Modern art, and ModernismTime Period: First half of the 20th century

Modern Art

Contemporary / Post-Modern Art

Click icon to add picture

Renaissance Art 14th/15th century Renaissance painting bridges the

period of European art history between the art of the Middle Ages and Baroque art. Painting of this era is connected to the "rebirth" (renaissance in French) of classical antiquity, the impact of humanism on artists and their patrons, new artistic sensibilities and techniques, and, in general, the transition from the Medieval period to the Early modern age.

Techniques The use of perspective: The first major treatment of the painting as a window into

space appeared in the work of Giotto di Bondone, at the beginning of the 14th century. True linear perspective was formalized later, by Filippo Brunelleschi and Leon Battista Alberti. In addition to giving a more realistic presentation of art, it moved Renaissance painters into painting more paintings.

foreshortening - The term foreshortening refers to the artistic effect of shortening lines in a drawing so as to create an illusion of depth.

sfumato - The term sfumato was coined by Italian Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci, and refers to a fine art painting technique of blurring or softening of sharp outlines by subtle and gradual blending of one tone into another through the use of thin glazes to give the illusion of depth or three-dimensionality. This stems from the Italian word sfumare meaning to evaporate or to fade out. The Latin origin is fumare, to smoke. The opposite of sfumato is chiaroscuro.

chiaroscuro - The term chiaroscuro refers to the fine art painting modeling effect of using a strong contrast between light and dark to give the illusion of depth or three-dimensionality. This comes from the Italian words meaning light (chiaro) and dark (scuro), a technique which came into wide use in the Baroque Period.; Sfumato is the opposite of chiaroscuro.

Balance and Proportion: proper sizes and the use of airy, bright colors. The human anatomy wasn't as idealized as during the ancient times.  

1. Description of Aesthetics What do you see? Describe all the defining elements that

you see including the colours, textures, shapes.

Describe where these elements are positioned and perhaps why?

Jan van Eyck The Arnolfini PortraitYear: 1434(1434) Technique : Oil on panel Dimensions: 82 × 59,5 cm

2- Interpretation Of Subject Matter Subject matter is simply the subject, object of

thing which the art work focuses on. There are formal are terms used to describe subject matter such as figurative art, portraiture, landscape, seascape or still life but not all subject matter can be described by using one of these terms.

Once you have stated the subject matter you then use descriptive words to interpret and describe the subject in more detail and discuss what ideas or meaning the artist is trying to convey

2- Interpretation of Subject Matter It is difficult to identify the subject

matter of an abstract painting if the viewer has no knowledge of the artists’ intentions or past work.

Abstract could be described as having no subject matter as such but simply be an experiment or play on Formal Elements.

When a student is writing about the subject matter in an art work they would use descriptive words to interpret and describe the subject in more detail.

1- Interpretation Aesthetics and of Subject Matter You would start the discussion with sentences like;

The subject matter in this work is a portrait of Kylie Minogue following the recent Olympic Games

The Swedish winter landscape is the main subject matter in this work on paper

The interpretation of subject matter means how you describe the ideas or meaning behind the subject. For example;

Bill Hensen’s young female subjects appear to generate a sense of vulnerability of youthful beauty.

The subjects in Tracey Moffat’s “Something More #3”, photograph are set against as Australian landscape and question our ideas about identify.